MILAN — Ilia Malinin leaned his head back and wagged his tongue. This perhaps wasn’t the start to his Olympic career that he wanted.
The 21-year-old took it easy in the short program of the team figure skating competition Saturday, forgoing his signature quad axel, but even with a watered-down routine, the “Quad God” looked shockingly mortal.
He finished second in the short program after struggling on multiple jumps, trailing Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama’s electrifying performance by almost 10 points. The United States still enters the final day of the team competition with a one-point lead after Madison Chock and Evan Bates dazzled in the free dance with 133.23 points that earned first place.
The reigning world champions swept both dance programs for the team event to pace the Americans to a 44-point team total. They lead second-place Japan (39 points) and third-place Italy (37) before Sunday’s medal event that will feature men’s, women’s and pairs free programs. The United States has not named the skaters who will perform Sunday’s long programs.
Ilia Malinin said he simply was managing his energy to prepare for the individual event, which begins Tuesday.
(Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
Malinin, who earned nine points for his second-place finish in the short program, entered his first Olympics as the overwhelming favorite to win individual gold. With his unmatched technical skill, it likely would take multiple mistakes from Malinin and perfect performances from his competitors for him not to claim the United States’ second consecutive men’s singles gold medal.
But to become just the second skater to win two golds in the same Games, Malinin may need help from his teammates after he fell short of the lofty expectations Saturday.
Malinin planned to open with his quad axel in combination with a triple toe loop but settled only for a quad flip. He got a negative grade of execution on his triple axel. He underrotated a quad lutz that he connected to the triple toe loop.
Malinin said he simply is managing his energy to prepare for the individual event, which begins Tuesday.
Kagiyama highlighted Japan’s performances Saturday, pumping both fists after his program. As the crowd showered him with applause, he spread his arms wide and threw his head back. When he looked at his teammates cheering from the sideline he jumped in excitement. He stood up in shock when his score of 108.67 flashed across the screen.
While Malinin is undefeated in individual events since November 2023, he occasionally has had to stage comeback wins. He was third after the free program in the Grand Prix Final in December — the last major international competition before the Olympics — and answered in the free skate by becoming the first person to land seven clean quad jumps in a single program.